Last Monday night, the Montreal Canadiens lost 3-6 to the Pittsburgh Penguins Freshman defenseman Lane Hutson, who mostly struggled in the contest did not record a single shot on the target, nor did he earn a point, his plus/minus was -4. After the match, Canadiens head coach Martin St. Louis was asked to give his opinion about Hutson’s playing.
“That is part of the maturation process. He’ll come to understand over time what is possible and what is not. It is an entire phase of his development. We are going to keep getting into this conversation and also a player like him has to learn those aspects by himself,” said St. Louis.
When asked whether Hutson’s risk-taking was becoming a trend or just a one-off, St. Louis responded
“No that’s what I mean. You gotta be careful how you coach those guys, you know. Is this a trend? Is this a one-off like in terms of his risk taking or, you know, but he plays with a lot of good intentions.”
St. Louis was also asked about his choice to adjust the defensive pairings during the second period.
Essentially, there are a number of things that dictate it… Well, it’s more or less a feeling that one derives from the way the team is or the pairing is going he said.
Lars Eller scored two goals for the Penguins, while Kevin Hayes and Kris Letang, Rickard Rakell, and Evgeni Malkin scored for the side.
Joining the total of Canadiens scores, Kaiden Guhle, Emil Heinemann, and Juraj Slafkova made goals. The Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry was instrumental to the win making 24 saves on the night while Montreals Sam Montembeault registered 25 saves on the night.
Martin St. Louis on Canadiens giving up rushes against the Penguins
When asked why the Canadiens let their opponents go on so many rushes on the Penguins’ side, Martin St. Louis answered that he might need to watch the videos of the game to know when and why that occurred.
St. Louis also pointed out that he could hardly remember a number of rushes given up in the third period if they were trailing by a goal only. He said that teams will always be more risky when attempting to score in the closing moments of the match.
That is why, St. Louis speaking, it is necessary to take extra risk when you are two goals behind and you want to score.
“I think it’s hard to come back in the game. So, you know, and with the risk that you take, if you don’t execute, it usually means rush the other way, so I’m sure we have to be a little more calculated.
St. Louis emphasized that while taking risks is expected when trailing late in a game, those risks must be calculated; otherwise, they can lead to dangerous scoring opportunities for the opponent.
The Canadiens will host the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night.
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